Joseph Ira Dassin (November 5, 1938 - August 20, 1980) was a French-speaking American folk, pop and rock musician. Dassin was born in New York City to Jules Dassin (Yiddish actor and film noir director) and Béatrice Launer. He began his childhood first in New York and Los Angeles, California. However after his father became a victim of the anti-communist policies of Senator Joseph McCarthy, he and his family moved from place to place across Europe.